The Bourne ultimatum (75 page)

Conklin and Bourne stared in silence at the Soviet intelligence officer, but in that silence were the unheard static cracks of high-voltage electricity. “Why are you so certain we won’t like the information?” asked Alex quietly.

“My fine old enemy,” began Krupkin, his gentle voice no louder than Conklin’s. “When Mr. Bourne came out of that café of horror with the brown paper clasped in his hand, he was hysterical. In trying to calm him, to bring him under control, you called him David. ... I now have a name I sincerely wish I did not possess.”

“
Forget
it,” said Bourne.

“I shall do my best to, but there are ways—”

“That’s not what I mean,” broke in Jason. “I have to live with the fact that you know it and I’ll manage. Where was that phone installed, the
address
?”

“According to the billing computers, it’s a mission home run by an organization called the Magdalen Sisters of Charity. Again obviously false.”

“Obviously not,” corrected Bourne. “It exists. They exist. It’s legitimate down to their religious helmets, and it’s also a usable drop. Or was.”

“Fascinating,” mused Krupkin. “So much of the Jackal’s various façades is tied to the Church. A brilliant if overdone modus operandi. It’s said that he once studied for the priesthood.”

“Then the Church is one up on you,” said Alex, angling his head in a humorously mocking rebuke. “They threw him out before you did.”

“I never underestimate the Vatican,” laughed Dimitri. “It ultimately proved that our mad Joseph Stalin misunderstood priorities when he asked how many battalions the Pope had. His Holiness doesn’t need them; he achieves more than Stalin ever did with all his purges. Power goes to the one who instills the greatest fear, not so, Aleksei? All the princes of this earth use it with brutal effectiveness. And it all revolves around death—the fear of it, before and after. When will we grow up and tell them all to go to the devil?”

“
Death
,” whispered Jason, frowning. “Death on the Rivoli, at the Meurice, the Magdalen Sisters ... my
God
, I completely forgot! Dominique Lavier! She was at the Meurice—she may still be
there
. She said she’d work with me!”

“Why would she?” asked Krupkin sharply.

“Because Carlos killed her sister and she had no choice but to join him or be killed herself.” Bourne turned to the console. “I need the telephone number of the Meurice—”

“Four two six zero, three eight six zero,” offered Krupkin as Jason grabbed a pencil and wrote down the numbers on Alex’s notepad. “A lovely place, once known as the hotel of kings. I especially like the grill.”

Bourne touched the buttons, holding up his hand for quiet. Remembering, he asked for Madame Brielle’s room, the name they had agreed upon, and when the hotel operator said “
Mais oui
,” he nodded rapidly in relief to Alex and Dimitri Krupkin. Lavier answered.

“Yes?”

“It is
I
, madame,” said Jason, his French just slightly coarse, ever so minimally Anglicized; the Chameleon was in charge. “Your housekeeper suggested we might reach you here. Madame’s dress is ready. We apologize for the delay.”

“It was to have been brought to me yesterday—by
noon
—you ass! I intended to wear it last evening at Le Grand Véfour. I was mortified!”

“A thousand apologies. We can deliver it to the hotel immediately.”

“You are again an ass! I’m sure my maid also told you I was here for only two days. Take it to my flat on the Montaigne and it had better be there by four o’clock or your bill will not be paid for six months!” The conversation was believably terminated by a loud crack at the other end of the line.

Bourne replaced the phone; perspiration had formed at his slightly graying hairline. “I’ve been out of this too long,” he said, breathing deeply. “She has a flat on the Montaigne and she’ll be there after four o’clock.”

“Who the
hell
is Dominique whatever her name is?” fairly yelled the frustrated Conklin.

“Lavier,” answered Krupkin, “only, she uses her dead sister’s name, Jacqueline. She’s been posing as her sister for years.”

“You
know
about that?” asked Jason, impressed.

“Yes, but it never did us much good. It was an understandable ruse—look-alikes, several months’ absence, minor surgery and programming—all quite normal in the abnormal world of haute couture. Who looks or listens to anyone in that superficial orbit? We watch her, but she’s never led us to the Jackal, she wouldn’t know how. She has no direct access; everything she reports to Carlos is filtered, stone walls at every relay. That’s the way of the Jackal.”

“It’s not always the way,” said Bourne. “There was a man named Santos who managed a run-down café in Argenteuil called Le Coeur du Soldat. He had access. He gave it to me and it was very special.”

“
Was
?” Krupkin raised his eyebrows. “
Had
? You employ the past tense?”

“He’s dead.”

“And that run-down café in Argenteuil, is it still flourishing?”

“It’s cleaned out and closed down,” admitted Jason, no defeat in his admission.

“So the access is terminated, no?”

“Sure, but I believe what he told me because he was killed for telling it to me. You see, he was getting out, just as this Lavier woman wants to get out—only,
his
association went back to the beginning. To Cuba, where Carlos saved a misfit like himself from execution. He knew he could use that man, that huge imposing giant who could operate inside the world of the dregs of humanity and be his primary relay. Santos
had
direct access. He proved it because he gave me an alternate number that did reach the Jackal. Only a very few men could do that.”

“Fascinating,” said Krupkin, his eyes firmly focused on Bourne. “But as my fine old enemy, Aleksei, who is now looking at you as I look at you, might inquire, what are you leading up to, Mr. Bourne? Your words are ambiguous but your implied accusations appear dangerous.”

“To you. Not to us.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Santos told me that only four men in the world have direct access to the Jackal. One of them is in Dzerzhinsky Square. ‘Very high in the Komitet’ were Santos’s words, and believe me, he didn’t think much of your superior.”

It was as if Dimitri Krupkin had been struck in the face by a director of the Politburo in the middle of Red Square during a May Day parade. The blood drained from his head, his skin taking on the pallor of ash, his eyes steady, unblinking. “What else did this Santos tell you? I have to
know
!”

“Only that Carlos had a thing about Moscow, that he was making contact with people in high places. It was an obsession with him. ... If you can find that contact in Dzerzhinsky Square, it would be a big leap forward. In the meantime, all we’ve got is Dominique Lavier—”

“Damn,
damn
!” roared Krupkin, cutting off Jason. “How
insane
, yet how perfectly logical! You’ve answered several questions, Mr. Bourne, and how they’ve burned into my mind. So many times I’ve come so close—so many, so close—and always
nothing
. Well, let me tell you, gentlemen, the games of the devil are not restricted to those confined to hell. Others can play them. My
God
, I’ve been a pearl to be flushed from one oyster to another, always the bigger fool! ... Make no more calls from that telephone!”

f
f
f

It was 3:30 in the afternoon, Moscow time, and the elderly man in the uniform of a Soviet army officer walked as rapidly as his age permitted down the hallway on the fifth floor of KGB headquarters in Dzerzhinsky Square. It was a hot day, and as usual the air conditioning was only barely and erratically adequate, so General Grigorie Rodchenko permitted himself a privilege of rank: his collar was open. It did not stop the occasional rivulet of sweat from sliding in and out of the crevices of his deeply lined face on its way down to his neck, but the absence of the tight, red-bordered band of cloth around his throat was a minor relief.

He reached the bank of elevators, pressed the button and waited, gripping a key in his hand. The doors to his right opened, and he was pleased to see that there was no one inside. It was easier than having to order everyone out—at least, far less awkward. He entered, inserted the key in the uppermost lock-release above the panel, and again waited while the mechanism performed its function. It did so quickly, and the elevator shot directly down to the lowest underground levels of the building.

The doors opened and the general walked out, instantly aware of the pervasive silence that filled the corridors both left and right. In moments, that would change, he thought. He proceeded down the left hallway to a large steel door with a metal sign riveted in the center.

ENTRANCE FORBIDDEN

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

It was a foolish admonition, he thought, as he took out a thin plastic card from his pocket and shoved it slowly, carefully, into a slot on the right. Without the pass card—and sometimes even with it if inserted too quickly—the door would not open. There were two clicks, and Rodchenko removed his card as the heavy, knobless door swung back, a television monitor recording his entry.

The hum of activity was pronounced from dozens of lighted cubicles within the huge, dark low-ceilinged complex the size of a czar’s grand ballroom but without the slightest attempt at decor. A thousand pieces of equipment in black and gray, several hundred personnel in pristine white coveralls within white-walled cubicles. And, thankfully, the air was cool, almost cold, in fact. The machinery demanded it, for this was the KGB’s communications center. Information poured in twenty-four hours a day from all over the world.

The old soldier trudged up a familiar path to the farthest aisle on the right, then left to the last cubicle at the far end of the enormous room. It was a long walk, and the general’s breath was short, his legs were tired. He entered the small enclosure, nodding at the middle-aged operator who looked up at his visitor and removed the cushioned headset from his ears. On the white counter in front of him was a large electronic console with myriad switches, dials and a keyboard. Rodchenko sat down in a steel chair next to the man; catching his breath, he spoke.

“You have word from Colonel Krupkin in Paris?”

“I have words
concerning
Colonel Krupkin, General. In line with your instructions to monitor the colonel’s telephone conversations, including those international lines authorized by him, I received a tape from Paris several minutes ago that I thought you should listen to.”

“As usual, you are most efficient and I am most grateful; and as always, I’m sure Colonel Krupkin will inform us of events, but as you know, he’s so terribly busy.”

“No explanations are necessary, sir. The conversations you are about to hear were recorded within the past half hour. The earphones, please?”

Rodchenko slipped on the headset and nodded. The operator placed a pad and a container of sharpened pencils in front of the general; he touched a number on the keyboard and sat back as the powerful third
direktor
of the Komitet leaned forward listening. In moments the general began taking notes; minutes later he was writing furiously. The tape came to an end and Rodchenko removed the headset. He looked sternly at the operator, his narrow Slavic eyes rigid between the folds of lined flesh, the crevices in his face seemingly more pronounced than before.

“Erase the tape, then destroy the reel,” he ordered, getting out of the chair. “As usual, you have heard nothing.”

“As usual, General.”

“And, as usual, you will be rewarded.”

It was 4:17 when Rodchenko returned to his office and sat down at his desk, studying his notes. It was
incredible
! It was beyond
belief
, yet there it was—he had heard for himself the words and the voices saying those words! ... Not those concerning the monseigneur in Paris; he was secondary now and could be reached in minutes, if it was necessary. That could wait, but the other could not wait, not an instant longer! The general picked up his phone and rang his secretary.

“I want an immediate satellite transmission to our consulate in New York. All maximum scramblers in place and operational.”

How could it happen?

Medusa
!

Frowning, Marie listened to her husband’s voice over the telephone, nodding at Mo Panov across the hotel room. “Where are you now?” she asked.

“At a pay phone in the Plaza-Ath
é
née,” answered Bourne. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“What’s happening?”

“Complications, but also some progress.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything.”

“There’s not that much to tell.”

“What’s this Krupkin like?”

“He’s an original. He brought us to the Soviet embassy and I talked to your brother on one of their lines.”

“
What
? ... How are the
children
?”

“Fine. Everything’s fine. Jamie’s thoroughly enjoying himself and Mrs. Cooper won’t let Johnny touch Alison.”

“Which means Bro doesn’t want to touch Alison.”

“So be it.”

“What’s the number? I want to call.”

“Holland’s setting up a secure line. We’ll know in an hour or so.”

“Which means you’re lying.”

“So be it. You should be with them. If I’m delayed, I’ll call you.”

“Wait a minute. Mo wants to talk to you—”

The line went dead. Across the room, Panov slowly shook his head as he watched Marie’s reaction to the suddenly terminated conversation. “Forget it,” he said. “I’m the last person he wants to talk to.”

“He’s back there, Mo. He’s not David any longer.”

“He has a different calling now,” added Panov softly. “David can’t handle it.”

“I think that’s the most frightening thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

The psychiatrist nodded. “It may well be.”

The gray Citroën was parked several hundred feet diagonally across from the canopied entrance of Dominique Lavier’s apartment building on the fashionable avenue Montaigne. Krupkin, Alex and Bourne sat in the back, Conklin again in the jump seat, his size and disabled leg making the position more feasible. Conversation was at a minimum as the three men anxiously kept glancing over at the glass doors of the apartment.